In Wake of Scandals, USOC Begins Reform

NANCY ARMOUR

Published 7:00 pm, Saturday, February 8, 2003

AP Sports Writer

The U.S. Olympic Committee is getting serious about cleaning up its mess.

After several months of scandals that splintered the organization and took public attention away from athletes, the USOC's executive committee announced Sunday it has formed a task force to create a blueprint for major reform.

The governance and ethics review task force will examine virtually every part of the USOC for ways to streamline the organization and improve its operation. Its recommendations are due before the USOC's April board meeting.

"The task force has a broad mandate and a lot of work to do," said Bill Stapleton, who will chair the task force with fellow vice president Frank Marshall.

"We have a unique chance in the history of our organization to create real change that we have needed to make for a very long time."

And, frankly, the USOC doesn't have much choice. Congress has the authority to revoke the USOC's charter, and it has very little patience with the group these days. One senator, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, even said chief executive officer Lloyd Ward should resign because of his role in the recent scandals.

A second Congressional hearing is scheduled for Thursday, and senators have asked witnesses for suggestions on fixing the USOC's unwieldy operating structure.

"This gives us the opportunity to show Congress we're stepping up to the plate as far as our own governance, and are willing to take corrective action," said Jim McCarthy, a member of the USOC's executive committee.

"We've had reports with these suggestions before," he added. "The advantage now is we're getting a big push."

Political intrigue and power struggles between volunteers and paid staffers are nothing new to the USOC. But the recent turmoil has been bad _ even by USOC standards.

Since Ward was accused in December of trying to steer Olympic business to his brother's company, five USOC members have quit, president Marty Mankamyer resigned and the organization's leaders have been called before Congress.

The group has now had three presidents in the last 11 months, and three CEOs since 2000.

"The USOC needs to take decisive action to get our house in order," interim president Bill Martin said. "… The time for action, change and improvement is now."

Martin said he would name the rest of the reform task force early this week. The group will then focus on six areas: ethical behavior; governance and organizational structure; maintenance of sensitive, confidential and proprietary information; communications policies; openness, transparency and disclosure; and fundraising efficiency.

The executive committee also asked Anita DeFrantz, Rob Stull and Al Monaco to finalize the selection process for a new president. DeFrantz, the senior U.S. member of the International Olympic Committee, said she hopes that can be done within two weeks.

One of the task force's main focuses will be on the USOC's ethics process, which has been under fire for the way conflict-of-interest allegations against Ward were handled. The executive committee gave Ward a mild reprimand Jan. 13, prompting five USOC members _ including ethics compliance officer Pat Rodgers _ to resign in protest.

The USOC's compensation committee ruled Ward had committed two ethical violations, and he was stripped of his $184,800 bonus Saturday.

"There are no specific recommendations yet, but we need to have an ethics process that is in line with the best practices of Fortune 100 companies," Stapleton said. "I don't think there's any model that won't be reviewed or any idea that won't be considered."

The size of the USOC's board of directors will also be scrutinized. The board currently has 123 members, and almost everyone agrees it's too big.

But where can it be trimmed? The USOC's executive committee officers have to be on it, as do its past presidents. The governing bodies of 45 sports have to be represented, as do paralympians and several community-based organizations.

Twenty percent of the board has to be athletes or former athletes, too.

"In some form, we have to be a big tent, and have to provide an opportunity for all amateur organizations to have a voice," Martin said. "We don't know how we're going to do it."

But they're determined to try.

"I don't think you change the world over the weekend. I think that it is a continuum," Ward said. "I think ultimately what blunts any criticism is not what occurs in a meeting, but what occurs in performance.

"The story will be written going forward, and it won't be one that has no history," he added. "But I think it will be one now where this weekend will create a little bit of air cover and a little bit of a runway so that we can do some good, and I'm excited about that."